BY MORGAN CLENDANIEL

Fast Company‘s third annual World Changing Ideas Awards drew nearly 2,000 submissions across 17 categories. Fast Company editors and reporters created lists of honorable mentions and finalists, and then our panel of judges picked winners in each category. You can read more about the winners here.

GENERAL EXCELLENCE

WINNER

Aira, Aira

A set of glasses for people who are blind or low vision that allows a video connection with a call center, where agents can access the feed and help the user complete a task. Read more…

FINALISTS

Amazon Go, Amazon
Article One, The OpenGov Foundation and Twilio
Boundless, Boundless Immigration
Call for Code, IBM
Charting a global path to digital peace, Microsoft
Climate-action strategy, Levi Strauss & Co.
Climate-positive menu, Max Burgers AB
Four-day workweek, Perpetual Guardian
The Human Account, Dalberg Design, Dalberg Advisors, Dalberg Research, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
MethaneSat, Environmental Defense Fund
Nori, Nori
1.1.1.1, Cloudflare
Perpetual Purpose Trust, Organically Grown Company and Purpose Network
Plastic-Free Aisle, A Plastic Planet
Tatami, Untitled Group
UCOT, UCOT
Urban95, Bernard van Leer Foundation
Wedew, Skysource/Skywater Alliance

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Andorra, Andorra
Atmosphere, Understory
Beyond Capital, Beyond Capital Fund
The Billion Dollar Fund for Women, The Billion Dollar Fund for Women
The Biomimicry Commons, Biomimicry Frontiers
ByFusion Global, ByFusion Global
Consumer Insights Collaborative, The Aspen Institute Financial Security Program
Darwin Home Wellness Intelligence, Delos
Delta Air Lines and Duke University Offset Program, Urban Offsets
Flood Concern, One Concern
For Days, For Days
Forefront Cultures, Forefront
Gender Equality Funds, As You Sow
Global Center for Cleantech Innovation, Greentown Labs
The Good Food Startup Manual, The Good Food Institute
Guardhat, Guardhat
Helm Personal Server, Helm
HP Metal Jet, HP
The ISS Cotton Sustainability Challenge, Target
Katadyn Universal Aquifer, Katadyn Group
Lead2030, One Young World
Live XYZ, Live XYZ
Microplastic-Sensing AUV, Sprout Studios and Draper
Million Waves Project, Million Waves Project
The Mother Board, Wongdoody
My Skin Track UV, L’Oréal USA
Open Road Ventures, Open Road Alliance
The Paper Bottle Project, Grow + Digitalist, BillerudKorsnäs, and EcoXpac
The Port of Rotterdam, Cisco, IBM, and the Port of Rotterdam
Power Ledger, Power Ledger
Project Debater, IBM
Reciclaya, Evrythng and Recycl3R
Roo, Planned Parenthood and Work & Co
Sacred Vote, Sacred Generations
Safe work environment/sexual harassment clause, HoneyBook
Tech Bets for an Urban World, Arm, Dalberg Design, Dalberg Advisors, UNICEF Innovation Unit
United States and Oceans of America, Activista and Surfrider
Virginia Treatment Center for Children, CannonDesign and Virginia Commonwealth University

ADVERTISING

WINNER

The Uncensored Playlist, DDB Group Germany

A project designed to draw attention to (and circumvent) press censorship, by turning banned articles into pop songs that were then made available on streaming services. Read more…

FINALISTS

Feed Our Future, World Food Programme
Fight Gunfire With Fire, MullenLowe and The One Club for Creativity
G’ ay Mate, Interbrand
Just Do It, Nike
LGBTQ World Cup Russian-language campaign, Babbel
Rising, R/GA and the Ad Council
Tobacco 21 campaign, Bldg
United States and Oceans of America, Activista and Surfrider
Vote With Your Tote, Papel & Caneta

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Budweiser—100% Committed to a Brighter Future, Revolt
Circle, Forsman & Bodenfors New York
Corona: Oceans Week, Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam
Inequality Balls, Africa
Making sponsorships work for fans, Hookit
A Man Like You, GSD&M
#MyGameMy
Name, Africa
Project Plastick, Project Plastick
Save the Food—Phase Two, Publicis Sapient
See Now, Purpose

AI AND DATA

WINNER

Flood Concern, One Concern

A platform that uses artificial intelligence to predict where a city will flood, days before the storm even hits. Read more…

FINALISTS

Affectiva Automotive AI, Affectiva
Air Quality Life Index, Constructive and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago
Digital data storage using DNA molecules, Catalog
FarmaTrust, FarmaTrust
HeadGaze, eBay
The Human Account, Dalberg Design, Dalberg Advisors, Dalberg Research, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
ICEYE-X1 Mission, ICEYE
Improving population maps to prevent the spread of disease and disaster, Facebook
Mapping air pollution at the street level, Aclima
Pegasus AI, Orbis and Visulytix
“Preserving a Legacy: A Drone and AI Expedition”, Agency Inside, Intel
St. Jude Cloud, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Zero Hunger Zero Waste, 84.51°

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Ada Global Health Initiative, Ada Health
Amazon Go, Amazon
Better Future, Checkr
Brain Builder, Neurala
Capella Space, Capella Space
CLUES, Carbon Lighthouse
Commutifi, Commutifi
Emotional Analytics for Social Enterprises and the Grameen Guru, Accenture Labs India
Global Pollen Data API, BreezoMeter
Graphs4Good, Neo4j
G17Eco Platform, World Wide Generation
Harvey Data Project, Civis Analytics, Dewberry, Knudson LP, and Houston
IDx-DR, IDx Technologies
Industrial AI, Asset Performance Management, Uptake
More L.A., Woods Bagot
Moxi, Diligent Robotics
Penny, the food-service robot, Bear Robotics
Phylagen, Phylagen
Project Natick Northern Isles, Microsoft
Reciclaya, Evrythng and Recycl3R
Reducing CO2 through big data, Siemens
Sana, Sana Labs
Savormetrics, Savormetrics
Sword Health, Sword Health
The Table, ShareTheMeal and the United Nations World Food Programme
Wildbook, Wild Me

APPS

WINNER

Aira, Aira

A set of glasses for people who are blind or low vision that allows 
a video connection with a call center, where agents can access the feed and help the user complete a task. Read more…

FINALISTS

Bonayo, Lower Polk Community Benefit District
Food Rescue Hero, 412 Food Rescue
K Health, K Health
Literator, Literator
Live XYZ, Live XYZ
Noonlight, Noonlight
Roo, Planned Parenthood and Work & Co
Truepic, Truepic

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Caribu, Caribu
Chevrolet Call Me Out, General Motors
Digital Fitness, PwC
Fishbowl, Fishbowl Media
Freedom 365 Virtual Recovery System, Freedom 365
Giveback, Lemonade
HealthVoyager, Klick Health and Boston Children’s Hospital
Intra, Jigsaw
Neighbor, Neighbor
On-demand tractors, Hello Tractor and CalAmp
SoundPrint, SoundPrint

CONSUMER PRODUCTS

WINNER

Roo, Planned Parenthood and Work & Co

A chatbot that discreetly answers kids’ questions about sexual health. Read more…

FINALISTS

Aira, Aira
Cali Wool Collection, The North Face
D, Dame
Edible chopsticks, Eleme and 
FF Shanghai
FinalStraw FinalStraw
Helm Personal Server, Helm
Modern Fertility Test, Modern Fertility
Mylo Driver Bag, Bolt Threads
The North Face Renewed, The North Face
1.1.1.1, Cloudflare
The Paper Bottle Project, Grow + Digitalist, BillerudKorsnäs, and EcoXpac
Relay, Republic Wireless
ReNew, Everlane
Saathi Pads, Saathi Eco Innovations
Vessel, Vessel
Xbox Adaptive Controller, Microsoft
YubiKey 5 NFC, Yubico

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Base Inventor Kit, littleBits
Bluewater Clean Drinking Water Movement, Bluewater Group
Climate-positive menu, Max Burgers AB
Currant Smart Outlet, Currant
Darwin Home Wellness Intelligence, Delos
EasyDose Ultra Concentrated Laundry Detergent, Seventh Generation
For Days, For Days
Girls Collection, Rothy’s
Halo Coffee, Halo
Hero, Hero
Hybrid Pads, Cora
Kova, Kova
Lloyd Beanie, Arvin Goods
Nixburg Lo-Impact Leather, LeDaveed
Park & Diamond, Park & Diamond
Safer Pro, Leaf Wearables
Seedling, Grove Collaborative
The Sustainable Lush Fund, Lush Cosmetics
SweetFoam, Allbirds
Time for Peace, Triwa and Humanium Metal
Truman’s, Truman’s

CREATIVITY

WINNER

Outrider 
Bomb Blast, Bluecadet

A visualization that draws attention to the dangers of nuclear war by letting users simulate the death and destruction of a bomb blast anywhere in the world. Read more…

FINALISTS

Air-Ink, Graviky Labs
Assembly, Malala Fund
Earthrise, Global Oneness Project
Fight Gunfire With Fire, MullenLowe and The One Club for Creativity
Gerrymander Jewelry, OMG WTF
Pioneer, Pioneer
“Preserving a Legacy: A Drone and AI Expedition”, Agency Inside, Intel
Project Light, Fine Acts and Peek Vision
Sanctuaries of Silence, Global Oneness Project
Virtual reality films, Conservation International

HONORABLE MENTIONS

The Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute Brand Identity, Straightline International
The Breast Express, Pumpspotting
Closing the Loop, Kaleidoscope Futures
Equal Justice Initiative Brand Identity, Turner Duckworth
The Female Role Model Project, Transforma Theatre
The Genesis Mission, YDreams Global and Barretos Cancer Hospital
Gigabot, re:3D
Girl Rising Creative Challenge, HP and Girl Rising
Global GoalsCast, Global GoalsCast
Hello Rang-tan, Mother
Immersive mixed reality, The Weather Channel
Made of Millions, Made of Millions Foundation
PATH Brand Identity, Manual
Personal Carbon Economy, Gray Area Art and Technology
Reimagine End of Life, Reimagine
#ThisIsFamily, Firewood Marketing and Google
White Box Lab, White Box Lab

DEVELOPING-WORLD TECHNOLOGY

WINNER

BanQu, BanQu

A solution that enables people living in extreme poverty to create a digital identity that lives on the blockchain. Read more…

FINALISTS

Ampli Dx/Rx, MIT Little Devices Lab
Butterfly FX, Butterfly FX
The Chakr Shield, Dell and Chakr Innovation
CorPath, Corindus Vascular Robotics
Jaza Duka, Mastercard and Unilever
JioPhone, Reliance Jio
Kudo, Kudo
mCent, Jana
Mobile thermoelectric refrigerator, Sprout Studios and Draper
Safer Pro, Leaf Wearables
Tech Bets for an Urban World, Arm, Dalberg Design, Dalberg Advisors, UNICEF Innovation Unit
iThrone: Waste-Vaporizing Toilet, Change:Water Labs
Wedew, Skysource/Skywater Alliance

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Airfox, Airfox
Bluewater Trailer, Bluewater
Cash benchmarking study, GiveDirectly and USAID
Connecting Venezuelan Refugees—the Roraima Project, Ericsson and Vivo
Emotional Analytics for Social Enterprises and the Grameen Guru, Accenture Labs India
Hydrogen, Hydrogen
Katadyn Universal Aquifer, Katadyn Group
Learning Links, The Kaizen Company
Mindtree.org Social Inclusion Platform, Mindtree.org
Nilus, Nilus
On-demand tractors, Hello Tractor and CalAmp
Sauna Food Waste Nutrition Conversion System, Treasure8
Wayout International, Wayout International
xRapid, Ripple
Zola, Enlisted Design and Off Grid Electric

EDUCATION

WINNER

Meraki Margdarshaq Project, Meraki Foundation

A tool to help parents in the developing world support their children’s early education. Read more…

FINALISTS

Aira, Aira
Arist, Arist
Art of Ecology, Wilsonart and Interlochen Arts Academy
Educating Syria’s future doctors, Osmosis
HEI Schools, HEI Schools
Institute for Social Impact, The Hockaday School
Make School, Make School
Matter Innovation Hub, Matter, Jamf, and Modular Life Solutions
New York Public Library Insta Novels, Mother
NewsFeed Defenders, iCivics and Annenberg Public Policy Center
Play-Rx, Play-Rx
The Riverbend School, Kurani and SPI Incubator
Roo, Planned Parenthood and Work & Co
ROYBI, ROYBI
Sana, Sana Labs
Techniques for Effective Teaching Program, IDP Foundation and Sesame Workshop
Think Equal, Think Equal USA
Wind Win RI, North Kingstown Chamber of Commerce

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Adobe Digital Academy, General Assembly and Adobe
African Leadership University Learning Challenge, Cerego and African Leadership University
Alteryx for Good, Alteryx
America to Me Impact Campaign, Participant Media
Área 21, Instituto Tellus
Babbel Neos, Babbel
Career Impact Bonds, Social Finance
Circular Classroom, Co-Founders and Walki Group
CodeJIKA.com, Code for Change
Crio, Curriculum Pathways by SAS
The Dignity Project, Women to Be
Education-SuperHighway, EducationSuper-
Highway
EduCreator Incubator, Next 10 Ventures
Enlighten, Tala
Fonetti: The Listening Bookshop, Auris Tech
Getty Unshuttered, J. Paul Getty Museum
Ignite My Future in School, Tata Consultancy Services
Intel x Smithsonian American Art Museum, Agency Inside, Intel
Kupaa, Mastercard
Lead a Creative China 2030, Ideo and Tsinghua University
Lego Serious Play, Azusa Pacific University
Ocean Heroes Bootcamp, Lonely Whale, Captain Planet Foundation + Point Break Foundation
Project Upgrade: Season 1, Wayfarer Entertainment
Restorative Justice in Schools, Peer Connect
SoapBox Labs, SoapBox Labs
Socrates Learning Platform, Education Revolution
Soy Digital, Facebook and Faro Digital
STEM Connect, Discovery Education
Strategy School, Mirasee
Thought for Food Challenge, Thought for Food
Udacity industry partnerships, Udacity
UNICEF Kid Power Ups, UNICEF USA

ENERGY

WINNER

Energy Vault, Energy Vault

A solution for 
renewable-energy 
storage that uses energy to stack giant blocks of concrete, 
and retrieves energy later by lowering them. Read more…

FINALISTS

Community microgrid partnership, VMware and Palo Alto
Enyway, Enyway
Nemoi System, Semtive
Network-level optimization, General Electric
Power Ledger, Power Ledger
Puerto Rico mini-grids, Siemens
SeaFloat Hybrid Power Plant, Siemens
Sunfolding, Sunfolding
Zinc-air battery system, NantEnergy
Zola, Enlisted Design and Off Grid Electric

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Amply Power, Amply Power
Anzene, Anzene
EVs for Schools, Austin Energy
Inspire Smart Energy, Inspire
mDerms, mPrest
Realize, Rocky Mountain Institute
Web Neutral Project, Web Neutral Project
Wind Win RI, North Kingstown Chamber of Commerce

EXPERIMENTAL

WINNER

Cellulose-Based Textile Fiber, Spinnova

A new method to spin wood into fiber to use in clothes, all without using any chemicals. Read more…

FINALISTS

Call for Code, IBM
Chevrolet Volt Bee Hive, General Motors and Bees in the D
Creative Residency 2018, Ginkgo Bioworks
Daisy, Watchtower Robotics
Dynamic Semiotics, Wayfinder
Edible chopsticks, Eleme and 
FF Shanghai
Electronic Alchemy, Morningbird Media Corporation
Encycled, Encycled Limited
Ingresso Social, Gira
Intel x Smithsonian American Art Museum, Agency Inside, Intel
IRL Glasses, IRL Labs
Microplastic-Sensing AUV, Sprout Studios and Draper
New York Public Library Insta Novels, Mother
Signing Off, Mastercard
Step Up Declaration, Salesforce and Mission 2020
WFP-X, World Food Programme Innovation Accelerator
Wildfire Watch System, Descartes Labs

HONORABLE MENTIONS

AlterEgo, MIT Media Lab
Antibias, Beyond
AttentivU, MIT Media Lab
Building Blocks, Space10
ByFusion Global, ByFusion Global
Career Impact Bonds, Social Finance
Circle, Forsman & Bodenfors New York
Consoar, HATS
Data stored in enzymatic DfNA, Molecular Assemblies
Digital data storage using DNA molecules, Catalog
Everyday Essentials: Dress, Min Choi Design
Frames of Power, Centre for Policy Alternatives
GoFly Prize, GoFly
Justice Promoters, Design Impact and Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center
Lightweighting 2.0, General Motors and Autodesk
Make Some Room, Publicis Sapient and Second Story
The net loneliness score, Ultra Testing
Nori, Nori
OceanX, OceanX
Park-Walk PDX, LineSync Architecture
Personal Carbon Economy, Gray Area Art and Technology
Posthuman Habitats, Foreground Design Agency
Project Debater, IBM
Sacred Vote, Sacred Generations
Scout, Uniform
S.E.E. Initiative, National Geographic
Voyc, North Highland

FOOD

WINNER

Apeel, Apeel Sciences

A natural coating 
to keep produce fresh longer, cutting down 
on wasted food in 
supermarkets. Read more…

FINALISTS

AeroFarms, AeroFarms
Beyond Sausage, Beyond Meat
Bowery Farming, Bowery Farming
Cassava Virus Action Project, Cassava Virus Action Project
Cultured meat, Just
Dehytray, JUA Technologies International
Forest Garden trifecta, Trees for the Future
Iron Ox, Iron Ox
The New Impossible Burger, Impossible Foods
P.S. Kitchen, P.S. Kitchen
Row 7 Seed Company, Row 7 Seed Company
Sanku (Project Healthy Children), Sanku (Project Healthy Children)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

AgPods, Siemens
Anuvia Plant Nutrients, Anuvia Plant Nutrients
Edible chopsticks, Eleme and 
FF Shanghai
FabaButter, Fora Foods
Food Rescue Hero, 412 Food Rescue
IBM Food Trust, IBM
Indigo Marketplace, Indigo Ag
Kuli Kuli Foods, Kuli Kuli Foods
Nilus, Nilus
An Ocean of Opportunity: Sustainable Seafood Initiative, The Good Food Institute
One Feeds Two, One Feeds Two
Project Dash, DoorDash
Ripptein, Ripple Foods

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

WINNER

Butterfly iQ, Butterfly Network

A cheap and portable way to perform 
ultrasounds. Read more…

FINALISTS

Ada Global Health Initiative, Ada Health
Aira, Aira
Air Quality Life Index, Constructive and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago
AntiOD, University of Cincinnati
BioPatty, Seed
Bioworks4, Ginkgo Bioworks
cerVIA, Luso Labs
Color Population Health, Color
CorPath, Corindus Vascular Robotics
DesignForHealth, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Dalberg Design, Sonder Collective, USAID Center for Innovation and Impact
Eko DUO, Eko
Four-day workweek, Perpetual Guardian
Fundamental Surgery, FundamentalVR
Gotcha, Gotcha
Krios G3i Cryo Transmission Electron Microscope, Thermo Fisher Scientific
Mission2Move Alexa Skill, Mission2Move
Modern Fertility Test, Modern Fertility
My Skin Track UV, L’Oréal USA
The net loneliness score, Ultra Testing
notOK, Bug and Bee
QGel, QGel
Roo, Planned Parenthood and Work & Co
Virginia Treatment Center for Children, CannonDesign and Virginia Commonwealth University

HONORABLE MENTIONS

AR-V7 prostate cancer test, Epic Sciences
BioLumen Technologies, BioLumen Technologies
BioVenture Entrepreneurship Lab, Weill Cornell Medicine BioVenture eLab
Cancer Differentiation Analysis, Anpac Bio-Medical Science Company
Can You Adjust?, Click Medical
Darwin Home Wellness Intelligence, Delos
The Dot Cup, Dot International
DotEndo, DotLab
Elvie Pump, Elvie
Fitbit Care, Fitbit
Flow, Plume Labs
Heartsense Monitor, Cambridge Heartwear
Hepatitis C medicine for Pakistan, Mastercard and Gilead
Hero, Hero
High Sensitive Troponin-I test, Abbott
Immunotherapy Bioprocessing Device, Sprout Studios and Draper
Intelligent Supply Chain, Optel
John Hancock Vitality, John Hancock
Kara, Kara Atmospheric Water
K Health, K Health
Knowledge Shots, Osmosis
Monarch Platform, Auris Health
Neighborhood Health Hub, Cityblock
Neuro Rehab VR, Neuro Rehab VR
One Medical Proactive Health Platform, One Medical
Online database of patient assistance programs, GoodRx
Pillo, Pillo Health
Pivot, Carrot
Remote prenatal monitoring platform, BloomLife
Simple Habit, Simple Habit
Sip Safe, VMLY&R
SoundPrint, SoundPrint
St. Jude–World Health Organization collaboration, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
StreetCred, StreetCred
Tripp, Tripp
UBQ Material, UBQ Materials
Viz LVO, Viz.ai
Wave Plus, Airthings
Zingo, Zingo

SOCIAL JUSTICE

WINNER 

Upsolve, Upsolve

An online service 
designed to be “the 
TurboTax for bankruptcy,” giving people who can’t afford 
lawyers access to this important legal tool to deal with debt. Read more…

FINALISTS

The Billion Dollar Fund for Women, The Billion Dollar Fund for Women
The Center for Open Hiring at Greyston, Greyston
Compass Initiative, Gilead
Equal Justice Initiative Brand Identity, Turner Duckworth
Global Youth Justice Movement, Global Youth Justice
Nest Standards Program for Homes and Small Workshops, Nest
Rebbl, Rebbl and Not for Sale
Sacred Vote, Sacred Generations
Transform Hollywood, GLAAD and 5050by2020
Unlocked Futures, New Profit and FreeAmerica
We Have Rights, ACLU and Brooklyn Defender Services

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Code Next, Google
Correctional Conservation Collaboration, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, TreeVitalize
Emotional Analytics for Social Enterprises and the Grameen Guru, Accenture Labs India
Fable Tech Labs, Fable Tech Labs
Fair Trade USA, Fair Trade USA
Help Delhi Breathe, Purpose
Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge, I-MAK
The Miranda Project, IIT Institute of Design
Neighborhood Health Hub, Cityblock
Pop Culture Collaborative, Pop Culture Collaborative
Social Friday, Breon
StreetCred, StreetCred
Street Team Tool, Streetlives
Transforming a jail into a college, New Earth
Urban Wood Project, Room & Board

SPACES, PLACES, AND CITIES

WINNER

Ryse Commons, Ryse

A community space 
for youth on probation, connecting them to services to help with rehabilitation. Read more…

FINALISTS

Building Blocks, Space10
Collect & Connect: Resilient South City, Hassell
Harvey Data Project, Civis Analytics, Dewberry, Knudson LP, and Houston
HouseZero, Harvard University
More L.A., Woods Bagot
Northtown affordable housing and public library, Perkins+Will
Re-Habit, KTGY Architecture + Planning
Shared Streets, Perkins Eastman
Station Soccer, Atlanta United FC and Soccer in the Streets
Upcycle Studios, Lendager Group
Urban Forestry Call for Action, Stefano Boeri Architetti

HONORABLE MENTIONS

AeroBarrier, AeroBarrier
Bell Works, Somerset Development
Blue Planet, Foundation for Climate Restoration
Chengdu Panda Reserve, Sasaki
Christchurch Central Library, Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects
Everboard, Continuus Material Recovery
Kampung Admiralty, Woha
Landmark Mall temporary homeless shelter, The Howard Hughes Corporation and Carpenter’s Shelter
Live XYZ, Live XYZ
L’Oréal Research & Innovation Center, Perkins+Will
Miami Waterwalk, RSM Design
Monarch Sanctuary, Terreform ONE
Photo.Synth.Etica, Ecologic Studio
PlasticRoad, KWS and Wavin
The Riverbend School, Kurani and SPI Incubator
The Shed, Savannah College of Art and Design
Tel Aviv Urban95, Bernard van Leer Foundation
3Space International House, 3Space
Urban Wood Project, Room & Board
A Vision for Staten Island, CetraRuddy Architecture

STUDENTS

WINNER

Incluse, Max Julian Fischer, Florian Beck, and Christian Dittrich

A hearing aid designed to look stylish, countering the stigma of conventional solutions to hearing loss. Read more…

FINALISTS

Banzo Bites, Ayna Arora and Megan Lu
Bloom, Wen Chun, Abhinav Sircar, and Jennifer Wei
BluePhin, Simran Chowdhry, Anand E.P., and Irfan Vakkayil
Chippin, Laura Colagrande and Haley Russell
LOOP (Lending Our Own Pennies), Alli Sevareid
The Miranda Project, Moire Corcoran, Ignacio Martinez, Jun Qiu, Tiffini Tobiasson, and Faris Zahrah
National Absentee Ballot Day, Tej Gokhale
Project Alias, Bjørn Karmann and Tore Knudsen
Twinkles, Honghao Deng and Jiabao Li
The Vacant Store Initiative, Irem Yildiz
Vivi, Marc Saboya Feliu
X-Frame, Ged Finch

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Augmented Mundanity OS, Martina Huynh
Blip, Nipuni Siyambalapitiya
The City of Cockaygne 2040, Sabrina Grosskopp
Dementia 2030, Chad Skelton, Hallie Fei Smith, and Jordan Turner
Everyday Essentials: Dress, Min Choi Design
Hinting Civic Futures, Sen Lin
Ideal You, Mehek Sharma and Zhi Wang
iHelp, Hatem El Akad, Paola Delgado, and Donghoon Lee
Lend It, Madison Hurr, McKinley McQuaide, Nico Stainfeld, and Erin Perrine
LNJ2.0, Leo Cheng, 
Hyunho Jang, Jon Laframboise, 
and Jon Owens
Olive, André Kennedy
Science & Memory Ghana Yen Asaase Food Reincarnated, University of Oregon
Ugli, Marino Funakoshi, Anja Lukovic, Natalie Schade, Diana Thomson, and Nick Wargo
Vigil, Meeta Gianani and Dalana Woodward

TRANSPORTATION

WINNER

EPIC Chassis, Motiv

A chassis that allows existing commercial trucks to be produced as electric vehicles, without major design changes. Read more…

FINALISTS

Charge Ready Transit Bus, Southern California Edison
Cruise AV, General Motors and Cruise Automation
Minimum Fleet Network, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Multimodal, smart mobility fleet, Lime
PeopleForBikes City Ratings, People for Bikes
RadBurro, Rad Power Bikes
Skip Scooters, Skip
Volvo 360c Concept Car, Volvo
Yego, Yego Innovision
Zūm, Zūm

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Atlanta Streetcar, Siemens
Blueprint for the Sky, Airbus UTM
Electric delivery vehicles, UPS
EVs for Schools, Austin Energy
May Mobility, May Mobility
“Shifting Gears: 
An Urbanist’s Take on Autonomous Vehicles”, Sasaki
SpotHero, SpotHero
TomTom AutoStream, TomTom

WORLD CHANGING COMPANY OF THE YEAR

WINNER

IBM

A range of entries shows that technology can create innovative solutions to global problems–from hunger to disasters to discourse.

FINALISTS

CannonDesign
Dalberg Design
Mastercard
Sasaki
Siemens
Southern California Edison
Sweetgreen
World Food Programme

JUDGES

Dev Aujla: Author, 50 Ways 
to Get a Job: An Unconventional Guide to Finding Work on Your Terms
George Aye: Cofounder and director of innovation, Greater Good Studio
Chrysanthe Broikos: Curator, National Building Museum
Will Byrne: Senior resident, 
Ideo CoLab
Jean Case: Chairman, National Geographic Society; CEO, Case Foundation
Ivan Cash: Principal, Cash Studios
Robin Chase: Executive chair, NUMO
Carol Cone: CEO, Carol Cone on Purpose
John Elkington: Founder and chief pollinator, Volans
Robert Fabricant: Cofounder and partner, Dalberg Design
Phillip Haid: Cofounder and CEO, Public
Jessica Jackley: Cofounder, Kiva
Jonathon Keats: Experimental philosopher, artist, and writer
Cliff Kuang: Author, User Friendly: How the Hidden 
Rules of Design Shape the Way We Live, 
Work & Play
Alnoor Ladha: Executive director, 
The Rules
Brittany Lane: Senior director 
of media, Unreasonable Group
Rachel Lauter: Executive director, Fair Work Center and Working Washington
Jessica L’Esperance: Manager, social good, Facebook
Wilneida Negrón: Technology fellow, Ford Foundation
Danielle Nierenberg: President and cofounder, Food Tank
Emily Pilloton: Founder and executive director, Project H Design and Girls Garage
Navi Radjou: Coauthor, Frugal Innovation
Brooks Rainwater: Senior executive and director, National League of Cities’ Center for City Solutions
DeAndrea Salvador: Founder and CEO, Renewable Energy Transition Initiative
Caroline Samponaro: Head of bike, scooter, and pedestrian 
policy, Lyft
Michael Seo: Managing partner, ReaMedica and ReaMedica Health (Kenya)
Michael Shank: Communications director, Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance
Nicola Twilley: Cohost, Gastropod podcast
Jeff Wessler: Founder, Heartbeat Health
Sherrie Westin: President, global impact and philanthropy, Sesame Workshop
Richard Whitt: President, Glia Foundation

(Judges recused themselves from deliberating 
on entries submitted by companies that they work for, fund, or consult.)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Morgan is a senior editor at Fast Company. He edits the Impact section, formerly FastCoExist.com. Have an idea for a story? You can reach him at mclendaniel [at] fastcompany.com More